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Warsaw University Faculty of Physics
WERSJA POLSKA  Research    People    Education
Name: Dr. hab. Agnieszka Bzowska
Address: Department of Biophysics, Institute of Experimental Physics, Warsaw University, Żwirki i Wigury 93, 02-089 Warsaw, Poland
Phone: +48 22 5540789
E-mail: abzowska@biogeo.uw.edu.pl

Research interests: Enzyme structure and molecular mechanism, protein/ligand interactions, protein crystallography, molecular spectroscopy; recently also competition between protein folding and aggregation. Main achievement: determination of three-dimensional structure and elucidation of molecular mechanism of catalysis for purine nucleoside phosphorylases - key enzymes of the metabolic salvage pathway. Close cooperation with Beata Wielgus-Kutrowska and Jan Antosiewicz.
Professional experience:
1984 Msc. in physics and biophysics, Faculty of Physics, Warsaw University, Warsaw, Poland.
1984 - 1990 Department of Biophysics, Research and Teaching Assistant.
1990 PhD in physics and biophysics, Faculty of Physics, Warsaw University, Warsaw, Poland.
1990 - Department of Biophysics, Research and Teaching Associate.
1993-2002 1-3 months per year, Visiting Scientist in the laboratory of Prof. Wolfram Saenger, Institut für Kristallographie, Freie Universität Berlin.
Selected publications 1997-2007:
  1. G. Koellner, M. Luić, D.Shugar, W. Saenger and A. Bzowska, Crystal structure of calf spleen purine nucleoside phosphorylase in a complex with hypoxanthine at 2.15 A resolution. J. Mol. Biol. 265, 202-216 (1997).
    cited 50 times or more
  2. G. Koellner, M. Luić, D. Shugar, W. Saenger and A. Bzowska, Crystal structure of the ternary complex of E. coli purine nucleoside phosphorylase with formycin B, a structural analogue of the substrate inosine, and phosphate (sulphate) at 2.1 A resolution. J. Mol. Biol. 280, 153-166 (1998).
    cited 40 times or more
  3. B. Wielgus-Kutrowska, J. Tebbe, J. Wierzchowski, D. Shugar, W. Saenger, G. Koellner and A. Bzowska, Binding of substrates by purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) from Cellulomonas sp. - kinetic and spectrofluorimetric studies. Nucleosides and Nucleotides 18, 871-872 (1999).
  4. J. Tebbe, A. Bzowska, B. Wielgus-Kutrowska, W. Schröder, Z. Kazimierczuk, D. Shugar, W. Saenger, W. and G. Koellner, Crystal structures of purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) from Cellulomonas sp. and its implications of the molecular mechanism of trimeric PNPs. J. Mol. Biol. 294, 1239-1255 (1999).
    cited 30 times or more
  5. A. Bzowska, E. Kulikowska, and D. Shugar, Purine nucleoside phosphorylase: properties, functions and clinical aspects. Pharmacology & Therapeutics 88, 349-425 (2000).
    cited 100 times or more
  6. M. Luić, G. Koellner, D. Shugar, W. Saenger and A. Bzowska, Calf spleen purine nucleoside phosphorylase: structure of its ternary complex with an N(7)-acycloguanosine inhibitor and a phosphate anion. Acta Cryst. D57, 30-36 (2001).
  7. G. Koellner, A. Bzowska, B. Wielgus-Kutrowska, M. Luić, T. Steiner, W. Saenger and J. Stępiński, Open and closed conformation of the E. coli purine nucleoside phosphorylase active center and implications for the catalytic mechanism. J. Mol. Biol. 315, 351-371 (2002).
  8. A. Bzowska, Calf spleen purine nucleoside phosphorylase: complex kinetic mechanism, hydrolysis of 7-methylguanosine, and oligomeric state in solution. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1596, 293-317 (2002).
  9. B. Wielgus-Kutrowska, A. Bzowska, J. Tebbe, G. Koellner and D. Shugar, Purine nucleoside phosphorylase from Cellulomonas sp.: physicochemical properties and binding of substrates determined by ligand-dependent enhancement of enzyme intrinsic fluorescence, and by protective effects of ligands on thermal inactivation of the enzyme. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1597, 320-334 (2002).
  10. B. Wielgus-Kutrowska, A. Holy, J. Frank, G. Koellner and A. Bzowska, Interactions of trimeric purine nucleoside phosphorylases with ground state analogues - calorimetric and fluorimetric studies. Nucleosides, Nucleotides and Nucleic Acids 22, 1695-1698 (2003).
  11. A. Bzowska, G. Koellner, B. Wielgus-Kutrowska, A. Stroh, G. Raszewski, A. Holý, T. Steiner, J. Frank, Crystal structure of calf spleen purine nucleoside phosphorylase with two full trimers in the asymmetric unit: important implications for the mechanism of catalysis. J. Mol. Biol. 342, 1015-1032 (2004).
  12. M. Luić, G. Koellner, T. Yokomatsu, S. Shibuya and A. Bzowska, Calf spleen purine-nucleoside phosphorylase: crystal structure of the binary complex with a potent multisubstrate analogue inhibitor. Acta. Cryst. D 60, 1417-1424 (2004).
  13. J. Wierzchowski, A. Bzowska, K. Stępniak, D. Shugar, Interactions of calf spleen purine nucleoside phosphorylase with 8-azaguanine, and a bisubstrate analogue inhibitor: implications for the reaction mechanism. Z. Naturforsch. 59c, 713-725 (2004).
  14. B. Wielgus-Kutrowska, A. Bzowska, Kinetic properties of Cellulomonas sp. purine nucleoside phosphorylase with typical and non-typical substrates: implications for the reaction mechanism. Nucleosides, Nucleotides and Nucleic Acids 5-7, 471-476 (2005).
  15. K. Banach, E. Bojarska, Z. Kazimierczuk, L. Magnowska, A. Bzowska, Kinetic model of oxidation catalyzed by xanthine oxidase - the final enzyme in degradation of purine nucleosides and nucleotides. Nucleosides, Nucleotides and Nucleic Acids 5-7, 465-469 (2005).
  16. M. Długosz, A. Bzowska, J, Antosiewicz, Stopped-flow studies of guanine binding by calf spleen purine nucleoside phoshorylase. Biophys. Chem. 115, 67-76 (2005).
  17. J. Behlke, G. Koellner, A Bzowska, Oligomeric structure of mammalian purine nucleoside phosphorylase in solution determined by analytical ultracentrifugation. Z. Naturforsch. 60c (2005).
  18. B. Wielgus-Kutrowska, A. Bzowska, Probing the mechanism of purine nucleoside phosphorylase by steady-state kinetic studies and ligand binding characterization determined by fluorimetric titrations. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1764, 887-902 (2006).
  19. A. Modrak-Wójcik, K. Stepniak, V. Akoev, M. Żółkiewski, A. Bzowska, Molecular architecture of E. coli purine nucleoside phosphorylase studied by analytical ultracentrifugation and CD-spectroscopy. Prot. Sci. 15, 1794-1800 (2006).
  20. B. Wielgus-Kutrowska, J. Antosiewicz, M. Długosz, A. Holý, A. Bzowska, Towards the mechanism of trimeric purine nucleoside phosphorylases: stopped-flow studies of binding of multisubstrate analogue inhibitor - 2-amino-9-[2-(phosphonomethoxy)-ethyl]-6-sulfanylpurine. Biophys. Chem. 125, 260-268 (2007).
  21. B. Wielgus-Kutrowska, M. Narczyk. A. Buszko, A. Bzowska, P. Clark, Folding and unfolding of non-fluorescent mutant of green fluorescent protein. J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 19, 285223 (2007).
  22. A. Modrak-Wójcik, K. Stepniak, B. Kierdaszuk, A. Bzowska, Is purine nucleoside phosphorylase an example of a morpheein? J. Phys.: Condens. Matter, 19, 285219 (2007).
Participation in research projects:
Biophysical bases of purine nucleoside phosphorylase mechanism, and synthesis and biological evaluation of inhibitors - potential drugs